This invention relates to a removable adapter for a hand-operated power driven screwdriver, and more particularly, to an adapter which, when mounted on the barrel of the power tool, accommodates a drill bit chuck for a tool for drilling guide holes for screws in dry wall, plaster board or Sheetrock, and when the adapter is removed, facilitates the drilling of the screws in the guide holes.
Adapters for converting hand-operated power driven screwdrivers into cutting tools, such as drills, have heretofore been proposed, but they are not adapted for use with screwdrivers having barrels with integral noses from which the screwdriver protrudes a limited distance. On the contrary, they are limited for use with screwdrivers having removable nose cones of the type which can be preadjusted to limit the depth that a screw is driven into a surface, but they require removal of the nose cone to accommodate the adapter. Accordingly, the nose cone must be placed on the screwdriver and properly adjusted after removing the adapter in order to obtain the benefit of the depth gauge feature of the nose cone to insure that the screw is not driven through the dry wall, plaster board or Sheetrock.
Adapters of this type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,973,784, issued Aug. 10, 1976, and 5,110,143, issued May 5, 1992. Both of these adapters embody drilling tools with hexagonal sleeves which receive hexagonal shafts of the screwdriver bit in telescoping relation in order to transmit the drive from the power tool to the drill bit. This telescoping drive transmission requires removal of the nose cone. If advantage is to be taken of the depth gauge feature of the nose cone, the nose cone must be installed and adjusted after removal of the adapter.